The Straits Times, April 28, 2007
By Azhar Ghani, Indonesia Bureau Chief
BALI - PRESIDENT Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono welcomed the signing of two treaties with Singapore yesterday, saying that Indonesia would stand to gain from the pacts.
On the extradition treaty, he said at a press conference: 'It has taken a long time for Indonesia and Singapore to reach this agreement, more than 30 years.
'There have been a lot of financial and banking crimes committed where the perpetrators fled to several countries. Now we have the opportunity to process these criminals.'
'We are pursuing the same treaty with China and Canada,' he added.
The new treaty covers a list of crimes that include murder, kidnapping, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering and the funding of terrorism.
Singapore and Indonesia yesterday also signed a defence cooperation pact that, among other things, will provide for training assistance to the Indonesian military and access to training areas in Indonesia for Singapore's military.
Asked by an Indonesian journalist what Indonesia would stand to gain from the defence pact, Dr Yudhoyono listed four 'clear benefits'.
First, it would lead to enhanced inter-operability of the two armed forces if they need to work together to tackle a common problem, like security in the Malacca Strait.
Second, cooperation in training would improve the professionalism of Indonesia's soldiers.
Third, Indonesia would gain access to facilities and training with better technology.
And fourth, Singapore would be bringing in new infrastructure to the training areas which would be made available to the Indonesians.
Noting the long history of cooperation between the two armed forces, including a previous pact from 1998 to 2003, Dr Yudhoyono said:
'Defence cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia is not new. We've seen the clear benefits when the two armed forces worked together to provide relief for victims of the 2004 tsunami.
'We need cooperation with friendly countries as exemplified by the joint security scheme existing between Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia on the Malacca Strait,' he added.
Separately, Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla was quoted by Antara news agency yesterday as saying that the extradition treaty will serve as an effective means to fight corruption.
'I am optimistic that if the agreement is implemented well, it will be effective,' he said.
By Azhar Ghani, Indonesia Bureau Chief
BALI - PRESIDENT Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono welcomed the signing of two treaties with Singapore yesterday, saying that Indonesia would stand to gain from the pacts.On the extradition treaty, he said at a press conference: 'It has taken a long time for Indonesia and Singapore to reach this agreement, more than 30 years.
'There have been a lot of financial and banking crimes committed where the perpetrators fled to several countries. Now we have the opportunity to process these criminals.'
'We are pursuing the same treaty with China and Canada,' he added.
The new treaty covers a list of crimes that include murder, kidnapping, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering and the funding of terrorism.
Singapore and Indonesia yesterday also signed a defence cooperation pact that, among other things, will provide for training assistance to the Indonesian military and access to training areas in Indonesia for Singapore's military.
Asked by an Indonesian journalist what Indonesia would stand to gain from the defence pact, Dr Yudhoyono listed four 'clear benefits'.
First, it would lead to enhanced inter-operability of the two armed forces if they need to work together to tackle a common problem, like security in the Malacca Strait.
Second, cooperation in training would improve the professionalism of Indonesia's soldiers.
Third, Indonesia would gain access to facilities and training with better technology.
And fourth, Singapore would be bringing in new infrastructure to the training areas which would be made available to the Indonesians.
Noting the long history of cooperation between the two armed forces, including a previous pact from 1998 to 2003, Dr Yudhoyono said:
'Defence cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia is not new. We've seen the clear benefits when the two armed forces worked together to provide relief for victims of the 2004 tsunami.
'We need cooperation with friendly countries as exemplified by the joint security scheme existing between Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia on the Malacca Strait,' he added.
Separately, Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla was quoted by Antara news agency yesterday as saying that the extradition treaty will serve as an effective means to fight corruption.
'I am optimistic that if the agreement is implemented well, it will be effective,' he said.
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